Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
Sakyamuni Buddha explained to Ananda that the twelve sense bases—six sense faculties and six sense objects—also arise from the wondrous luminous true mind. A single thought of ignorance generates the twelve sense bases.
“Furthermore, Ananda, what is meant by the twelve sense-bases being originally the wondrous true suchness of the tathagatagarbha?
“Ananda, observe the trees, springs and ponds of Jeta Grove. What do you think? Are these things produced by forms so that the eyes see them? Or does the visual faculty produce the attributes of form?
“Ananda, if the eyes produced form, then when seeing emptiness—which is not form—the nature of form should be extinguished. But once extinguished and obviously non-existent, who would be able to discern the quality of space?
“The same is true of emptiness. If form produced the faculty of seeing, then when seeing emptiness—which is not form—the seeing should be extinguished. But once extinguished and non-existent, who would be able to understand form and emptiness?
“Therefore, you should know that neither seeing nor form and emptiness establishes any bases. Both form and seeing are false and illusory. They are produced neither by dependent-arising nor self-arising.”
Sakyamuni Buddha explained to Ananda that the twelve sense bases—six sense faculties and six sense objects—also arise from the wondrous luminous true mind. A single thought of ignorance generates the twelve sense bases.
There is nothing in emptiness; since one does not see anything in complete emptiness, it is equivalent to not having the eye faculty. When one does not see, it is the same as not having eye faculty, there is no “form” to see. Therefore, both the eye faculty and the form are illusory and false. They are [intrinsically] neither dependent-arising nor self-arising. They are empty by nature because they arise and cease due to causes and conditions. Everything conditioned arises due to causes and conditions; without causes and conditions, there is nothing at all.
Here is an example. Grandmaster Lu became a Christian due to causes and conditions. He was very fond of a girl living across from his parents’ dormitory, who was a regular at the Kaohsiung Xinxing Presbyterian Church. Because of this, he started to go to the church and, from elementary to high school, became a devout Christian. He was baptized, studied diligently, and eventually became a Bible Study and Sunday School teacher. This is why Grandmaster is well-versed in both the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament tells the history of the Hebrews, beginning with Genesis and continuing with the stories of Moses and the kings. It describes how Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt to Mount Sinai, where he declared and pointed to the land God had given to them—land known today as Palestine.
The New Testament begins with the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John—followed by the Acts of the Apostles. Among the apostles, Saint Paul defended Christianity the most and played a major role in the New Testament—writing many letters to Jesus’ followers. Originally opposed to Christianity, his heart changed after Jesus shone light upon him and spoke to him; after which he became a strong supporter.
When Grandmaster visited the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome—where Saint Paul’s remains were buried—Paul appeared behind him. This can be seen clearly in a photo. This was because Grandmaster and Paul share a connection from the past. In fact, Jesus had not only twelve [main] disciples but seventy-two!
Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist, his cousin. At that moment, the gates of heaven opened and a voice from the sky said, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.” John was astonished and realized Jesus was truly the Son of God.
Grandmaster also spoke about his past relationships. He mentioned how feelings arise but eventually fade. Affection develops when people are in contact, but disappears when people are apart. Feelings are illusory.
In his youth, Grandmaster dated many beautiful women. This illustrates “seeing with the eyes.” If they had been old and unattractive—or if Grandmaster had never seen them—nothing would have happened. The eyes give rise to form, and form deceives the eyes. Thus, all are illusory.